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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Growing as a Couple

Last week we talked about Hard Moments from our First Year. This week's topic is what we have learned from the unexpected and and how have we grown as a couple.

Well the biggest unexpected moment was moving from Minnesota to Louisiana, which I talked about last week. Picking up and moving to a brand new place meant that all we had was each other. We have been able to spend more time together as just us and this has helped us to grow together.

We have also learned that we need to rely on each other. Richard has to rely on me to do most of the household chores, take care of the bills and support us financially. I rely on him to keep up with his studies and invest himself in his school program as much as possible so that he can support us in the future. Together we have made a solid team where we really do need each other.

And since it is just the two of us, we also have learned how to communicate better so we fight a lot less. Which for us is huge. We are learning that we each have our own needs and that we need to respect the others. Richard understands that I need some quality time with him every week so he sets aside time for me. And I understand that he needs his time to study and he cannot always talk to me even though I may try to have those conversations.

Another thing we had to learn together is how to handle our finances. When we got married, we combined our money because we need two incomes to pay all the bills. This has caused us to make financial decisions together. Luckily, we both have the cheap mentality and we don't struggle with differing opinion on how our money should be spent. We have our budgets that we try hard to stick to. We also learned in pre-martial counseling to set up a "guilt free" budget where each person get a specified amount of money to spend each month "guilt free". That way we have room in the budget to spend money how we want individually, even if the other does not agree. Hence why we call it guilt free. This has worked really well for us as a couple.

Through these last few years we have learned so much together and in the future we know we will learn so much more! We are excited for the journey ahead of us and where life will take us!

5 comments:

It sounds like you are off to a great start. Money can be such a big stumbling block in marriages. I've learned you can never stop learning new ways to communicate in marriage. Great Christian books are worth their weight in gold! http://www.kimadamsmorgan.com

I kind of like the idea of picking up and moving to some place where you don't know anyone. It would be hard as heck but I think it would force you to be a stronger couple because that person would be all you have. Really romantic, to be willing to do that with somebody.

These points are some that I have seen multiple times when reading through other posts from those who have linked-up. I am so thankful to see that nothing stops you two! I cant wait to follow your journey even more! Your wedding pictures are beautiful, as well! Thanks for linking up with us to share your heart! I hope many of the other wives get a chance to read your post!